


Love Bugs

by TwinVax



Series: Critrole Stories [6]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Other, cute cuddles, relationship week, spoilers for ep 84
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-09-22 18:15:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9619304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwinVax/pseuds/TwinVax
Summary: Critical Role relationship week, randomly rolled, starting with everyone's favorite bear.Day 1: Trinket is left alone with Scanlan while Vex is gone to Vasselheim.Day 2: Scanlan has a sleepover with Zahra after a fight with a white dragon.Day 3: Grog asks Kaylie an important question.Day 4: Vex talks to a freshly awakened Scanlan.Day 5: Kaylie and Trinket talk.Day 6: Percy deals with Scanlan while he's feebleminded





	1. Teddy Bear

Trinket loves everyone in Vox Machina. Vex is his favorite person in the whole world, she is his world, but he loves the others almost as much. 

Scanlan wasn’t any different, even though he sometimes is really confusing, he still liked the little gnome. He knew he only pretended not to like him, it was silly he thought he could hide how he felt from a bear. 

Vex had let him stay behind in Whitestone, let out of the necklace to stretch and do whatever he wanted. He was worried about her safety, but he knew super well that all the bad things were dead that wanted to kill her. The only real problem was Scanlan, who was still sleeping and hadn’t woken up at all! 

That was bad, Trinket didn’t like that, usually people woke up immediately after his family did their magic stuff. He didn’t think he should be left alone. 

Scanlan was part of his pack. Trinket thought it was only right to stay by him until he woke up. Protect him in case of any bad things. 

When he gets to the room, he can smell Scanlan, but he can also smell his cub, whose scent is sort of hard to distinguish between the smell of drink, and pudding. He noses the door open and sees the girl passed out in a chair, head lying on a post at the end of the bed. 

He doesn’t know if that’s comfortable, he's sure it isn’t, but he doesn’t want to wake her because she might get mad at him.

He walks quietly around the bed until he can see Scanlan’s face, ribbons around his wrists that aren’t tied to anything at all, and sniffs his face. He smells sort of the same, and he’s breathing, but he doesn’t wake up or react at all when Trinket licks him. Usually he complains, as part of the game, but he stays sleeping. 

Trinket whines, he doesn’t like him like this, its no fun and he shouldn’t be sleeping this long at all. It doesn’t make sense and he cant understand it. 

He lifts his paws up onto the mattress, determined, and climbed onto the bed, lying down gently beside him. If Scanlan wanted to nap for awhile, and if the others were busy, he would nap with him. He would keep him company, with his cub, until he woke up.

He would be a good boy and keep a member of his family company until the others got back. Then Scanlan could wake up without worrying about being alone.


	2. Tielfing Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tiefling sleepover where nothing untoward happens except a gnome spending time with a tiefling.

Zahra ran her fingers through Scanlan's hair, smiling lightly at the reaction it caused as he sighed, leaning against her. His size meant he fit perfectly in her lap, which he had taken advantage of immediately, though he hadn't made any dirty comments about it that she had grown used to in her brief time knowing him. 

She understood why of course, she had seen him almost be destroyed by the white dragon. It seemed a sleepover was the perfect way, in her mind, to help him relax after the less then pleasant experience. 

Her tail gently wrapped around his middle, keeping him steady as the finger brushing had already made him a bit calmer, using her claws to brush out the knots in his hair he hadn't been able to fix by the previous few days events. She was careful about it, she didn't want to break skin, but there were still instances where she had to use her nails to cut away dried blood set into his hair that could have almost been mistaken as dyed in highlights. 

She didn't know where the rest of Vox Machina had gone off to after getting branded, he didn't tell her. She didn't ask. She only knew he hadn't seemed all that present or aware of himself, when she had seen him wandering the street, but he had been present enough to agree to follow her to her temporary abode.

She believed having a calm sleepover with someone he knew, who wasn't the people he regularly spent time, with would help clear his head and make him feel better. Better then a whorehouse probably could anyway. 

She kissed the top of his head with a small smile, "I hope you don't mind if my cousin joins the sleepover dear. She would probably greatly enjoy your company as well, I'm sure." she whispered, knowing she wouldn't get a coherent response from the tired little gnome. 

Zahra didn't usually have an effect of calm on others, given her appearance, but she knew he trusted her and she was grateful for that. Her carding his hair with her claws and holding him when he had gone limp had also done wonders to let him fall into a half sleep. 

She was honestly delighted how curly his hair actually was when not restrained by a ponytail and dried blood. Once it had all been brushed out. It was much more fun to put it up into a braid when she could follow some of the natural movements of his hair. 

She was very glad he had fallen into what looked like a peaceful sleep then how he had found him in, by the time she had finished the braid and Lilith finally arrived minutes afterwards. 

They let Scanlan sleep for awhile of course, Zahra hoping by the time he woke up he would be much more aware of himself. Her hopes had been correct, she was satisfied to find out, and hour or so later when he woke up on his own. He was more then happy to join her and Lilith in their sleepover activities. 

the purple nail polish looked wonderful on Scanlan. It suited him, but Zahra had already known it would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First time writing for Zahra. I hope she's at least a bit in character.


	3. Uncle Grog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grog asks Kaylie an important question.

Kaylie knew Grog had been watching her for a while. She was actively trying to ignore his stare in favor of the book in her hands. Usually at this point she would have stabbed any fuckwit who looked at her to long, to discourage whatever thoughts they might have had towards her. 

She wasn’t sure that would work on Grog, and either way, she knew he wasn’t interested in testing her. 

It wasn’t her room anyway. She was only there to force Scanlan back to sleep if he tried to leave the bed like a fool and get himself into another coma. She needed him completely healthy and aware to have their talk. She guessed Pike had asked the same of Grog. 

That’s the only reason she was doing it, as a favor to Pike. That’s why she was sitting in a chair to big for her, reading a book, while she listened to the sleep heavy breathing from the bed. 

Grog sniffed at her, she could tell he did it at her just based on how it conveyed someone that wanted attention, so she looked up from the page she had been reading for the past half hour, “What?” 

He looked slightly confused, like he was trying to figure something out while he leaned against the wall, before he finally talked, “So like, I know your his daughter and you look a lot like him-”

"As you told me once already. I can still juggle ya, big man.“ Kaylie threatened, shutting the book. 

"Right, but like, he’s your dad and shit and he's sorta my family now, but he’s older then me by like…a lot, probably. So like, are you sorta my sister?” he asked, waving his hands around as he spoke. 

Kaylie stared at him, more confused then anything else, “I think if anything he treats ya like a brother, not his kid. So if ya wanna go around figuring out what we may be, ya could be my uncle. If you wanna think of it like that anyway.” she said carefully. 

Grog tilted his head as he thought over the word and its actual meaning outside his own dead uncle, “Uncle Grog.” he said. 

“Aye.” Kaylie sighed. 

He smiled, “I kinda like that,” he studied her hesitantly, “Do you mind if I’m your uncle?” 

Kaylie shrugged, “No, call yourself whatever ya want in relation ta me. Just don’t expect me to call ya uncle all the time.” 

Grog nodded, “Right. Can I like, hug you?” 

She hesitated a second as she thought on the question, before she slowly nodded, “Aye, ya may.” She leaned over to drop the book on the floor as he walked as quietly as he could to her, which she thought was a bit overkill considering Scanlan barely woke up when someone shook him, much less spoke in his vicinity.

She followed his movement with her eyes as he stopped beside her and kneeled down, looking at her with a face that was ready for her to change her mind and tell him to fuck off. Instead of doing that, she rolled her eyes and held out her arms, an invitation few ever got from her. 

An invitation he happily accepted, as he wrapped himself around her in a warm hug. A hug she soon returned to her odd new uncle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More characters I haven't written before. Hope you enjoy.


	4. Talking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scanlan and Vex talk when he wakes up.

Vex knocked on Scanlan’s door, slightly delighted by what had been told moments before, if she were being truthful. She hadn’t seen him at all since she had gotten back from Kymal, but a nurse in charge of his care had found her first, telling her he had started waking up. She thought it only fair she be there to greet him herself when he awoke, considering she hadn’t been present for his resurrection and had gotten Kaylie to him, “Scanlan, darling, are you awake? Can I come in?”

It took a moment to get an answer, but eventually she heard his voice, rightfully tired, quiet with strain, under whatever confusion seemed to have taken him, “Yes?”

She pulled the door open immediately, barely waiting for him to finish speaking as she swept inside. Much too happy to see him alive and well to bother taking stock of anything else in the room besides the effort it took to scoop him up into a hug. A hug he didn’t seem to be able to return, almost immediately yelping in clear unmistakable pain once she snatched him from the bed.

She quickly put him down while he groaned, finally understanding what the others had meant when they spoke of knots days ago. His arms were tied above his head, attached to the intricate designs of the beds headboard. In her haste to see him she had inadvertently caused him pain by forcing his arms _behind_ his head, at an angle that would be incredibly painful regardless of if a person had been tied up or not. She was lucky his arms hadn’t dislocated when she had picked him up.

She also may have hugged a bit too hard where he had been maimed, but that was less of an issue then being tied up, in a room covered in ‘pudding’, and wearing a nightshirt bigger then himself.

“Sorry, Scanlan, I’m sorry!” she exclaimed, quickly pulling at the (expensive) scarves, untying and freeing his arms from the restraints. She was going to have to talk to Percy about the scarves, at some point.

She moved his arms back to rest at his sides, listening to him whimper through clenched teeth, eyes shut while his breaths came out labored. She rested a hand on his wrist, casting a small cure wounds, forcing the pain she had caused away to make everything a bit more bearable before she sat beside him.

Scanlan’s breath hissed through his teeth, eyes open and looking up at her, once he managed to ride through the rest of whatever pain he felt, “What happened?” he asked, sounding like shit on cardboard and sand.

Vex fingered her necklace, bit her lip, “What do you remember?” she asked delicately.

“An invisible asshole dragon trying to eat me. I feel like she succeeded. I feel eaten.” Scanlan said, eyes unfocused, face emotionally blank, sentences coming out incomplete from a dry throat.

Vex small laugh sounded fake even to her, “Well your fine now, that’s good. Do you remember anything…afterwards?”

Scanlan stared at the ceiling a few moments, then turned his eyes to look at her, “Darkness and singing? I heart a flute. I think. Did people sing?”

Vex shrugged, “I don’t really know what anyone did darling, I wasn’t there. I think Kaylie may have done something with music, but I haven’t been told of the specifics.”

Scanlan looked much more focused, “Kaylie? You brought my daughter here?” he tried sitting up but his back didn’t get more then a few inches off the bed before he whimpered again, hand going to his chest and stomach as he fell back to the bed, “Shit.”

Vex sighed, “It worked regardless of if you agree with my choice or not. At least this way you wont lie about the events that transpired the way you like doing.” she said, slightly bitter.

Scanlan hummed, equal parts in pain and thought, “Revenge will come from Australia and Bert in time.” he muttered in his delirium, eyes shut as his voice got quieter.

Vex could tell, though he had slept for days, his body still wasn’t up to par and would need to sleep more then he stayed awake in the next few days. Percy had done the same the first time, though he hadn’t sounded as delirious as Scanlan. She stayed silent, watching him as he went back to sleep, before she gently rubbed the dried pudding off his face.

He could deal with all the other stuff done to him when he woke up again later. She had to find Percy to explain appropriate things to do when people are sleeping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter written in this god damn bedroom. Enjoy and tell me what you think.


	5. Lunch Chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaylie and Trinket talk over lunch.

“I’m not gunna stay here with em, this place isn’t my home and I don’t want it to be.” Kaylie said, glaring over the dining room table towards the bear facing her. Trinket was siting on a chair, listening to her, as she took a few minutes away from the sleeping quarters to actually have some lunch that wasn’t liquid.

She hadn’t asked him to follow her, he did anyway. It was bloody annoying.

Trinket whined, and her ears twitched as the speak with animals spell she had cast caught the sounds, forcing them into words she could understand, “ _What about Scanlan_?”

She shrugged, “I’m not gunna force him ta follow me if he wants to stay here, but I’m not gunna stay around for his benefit. I came cause your owner asked me to help get him back, ta fix the promise he broke. Whatever he wants isn’t any of my concern when he wakes up. I’m still leavin, just as soon as we both have a talk and I know exactly what we both want outta each other.” she took a bite out of her toast, watching Trinket.

“ _He does love you_.”

Kaylie chuckled, “So people have been tellin me, a few times.”

Trinket huffed, shaking his head while he got down onto the floor, moving towards her, “ _I could smell it_.” he said, gentle, nuzzling her side.

Kaylie pushed his head away, “Good for you, ya furry shit. doesn’t mean nothing till he wakes up.” she grabbed the last of her toast and stuffed it in her mouth, jumping off the chair and onto the stonework herself. “Gotta make sure he’s still sleeping nicely now. Maybe move him a bit to be more comfortable.” she swallowed and walked out the doors, leaving Trinket to his own devices as she found her way back to the room and took her seat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can probably tell why this came out so late. There was going to be more...


	6. Feebled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy isn't good at comforting people, he's not one to normally touch, but sometimes its required, whether by him or a person under a spell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Percy and Scanlan don't interact all that much, and the times they do usually lead to them screwing with each other or stealing each others shit. As such, it was difficult to figure out what they would do together, so this is less a relationship chapter and more Percy being emotionally constipated about touching.

Percy thought he looked very much like a child, when he turned to check on what had happened to him. Scanlan had only been under the spell for a few moments, but he had already managed to curl himself into a tight ball where he’d fallen on the ground. His eyes were squeezed shut and his hands covered his ears to hide from the noise.

 

Percy figured it would be wise, in the future, to find a way to make his guns silent in some way just in case this spell became more prominent.

 

He holstered his gun once he finished off the magic user and made his way to kneel beside Scanlan. “The fight is done with now, you can relax so we may go find someone to fix you.” he said, not making any move to touch him.

 

Scanlan whined, but his eyes opened when he heard Percy speak. Percy knew the spell, and he knew that Scanlan was supposed to see him as a friend, as a person who was meant to be ‘safe’ to the afflicted person. He also knew the two of them weren’t particularly that close compared to others, so he wasn’t surprised by the mistrust in the gnomes otherwise vacant eyes.

 

It was akin to a dog that liked a person enough but was still weary of being punished. That is the best way he could consider the look he got from the bard.

 

“Stand up, we need to get back now and see how well the others have done on their ends.” Percy said, watching Scanlan stare back at him with the same blank expression, still on the ground where he made no move to get up, “Do you truly not understand Common or are you able to fuck with me like this?” he asked, choosing to sound threatening to check something.

 

Scanlan flinched and covered his face with his hands, whimpering like Percy had just threatened to flay him. Percy supposed that answered his question; if he understood actual words, or the way in which they were spoken, based on the inflection of ones voice.

 

As gently as he could without spooking him, Percy grabbed the gnomes arm and stood up, forcing Scanlan to stand as he went. He let him go once he was sure he was balanced on his own feet and wouldn’t fall on his ass.

 

“You’ll understand this later, but I hope this never happens again, because it’s bothersome and I fucking hate magic.” Percy said pleasantly, before he tilted his head to indicate in front of him, hoping Scanlan would understand he wanted him to follow, and started walking away. The appearance of a large weight on his leg, thanks to the gnome in question, caused him to pause and look down at his blank eyed friend. 

 

Percy hated magic so much, but neither of them were going to get very far if he acted like a mother duck to a person who could spook and run at any small provocation. He sighed, picked Scanlan up, and continued walking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like the feeblemind spell, for no other reason then family protectiveness, so it was a good fallback considering I didn't have an idea what these two would do.


End file.
